Underpass on hold in Luverne

Talk about it

LUVERNE — After much discussion in recent years about constructing an underpass beneath U.S. 75 in Luverne to provide safe passage for pedestrians, a liaison committee consisting of city, county and school officials have decided to put the project on hold for at least another year.

The tunnel idea has garnered much discussion in Luverne, and not only because of the $840,000 price tag. Rock County Sheriff Evan Verbrugge has secured a $400,000 Federal Highway Transportation Enhancement grant for the project, but vocal community residents say the tunnel isn’t needed.

After numerous meetings with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), including one earlier this week, Rock County Administrator Kyle Oldre said the committee will seek to delay the project until 2013 or 2014. It isn’t yet known if the grant funds can be extended, however.

“MnDOT has agreed to look at some lighting alternatives with the community,” Oldre said. “Since they are willing to do that, we will research it and request to push back the funding for one year while we do the study.”

A request to delay the tunnel project must be approved by the full board from each of the three entities involved — Luverne Public School, Luverne City Council and Rock County Board of Commissioners. Oldre hopes each board can address the issue at their next meeting.

As for MnDOT’s lighting offer, Oldre anticipates a project will likely move forward as soon as each board approves delaying construction of the tunnel.

A safety issue

Verbrugge began researching safety options for pedestrians several years ago, after a concerned parent reported his daughter was nearly hit by a car as she crossed the busy highway.

That wasn’t the first report, and it isn’t the last.

Since January 2006, there have been 38 near misses between vehicles and pedestrians on U.S. 75.

“That’s a lot,” Verbrugge said. It’s enough to warrant a tunnel, he believes, but he’s willing to accept whatever decision is made.

“We all have the same goal — to have safe passage not only for the students, but for anyone who crosses (the highway),” he added.

Yet, the discussion has been a bit frustrating, he said, because “people have tunnel vision — excuse the pun.

“They automatically don’t like it because there’s a cost, but we’re already paying crossing guards,” Verbrugge explained. “I have not been able to get (them) past the fact that even though we have good crossing guards, we have not eliminated the human error factor.”

Four crossing guards, hired by the county but funded jointly by the city of Luverne and the Luverne School District, help students safely cross the highway at three different crosswalks three times daily — in the morning, over the lunch break and at the end of the school day — putting in about 2.5 to 2.75 hours per day. Verbrugge said the job can be tough to fill because people are limited in other things they can do during the day.

At the start of this school year, Verbrugge had three people resign within the first week. Advertising for the job brought in no applicants.

Using students in the upper grade levels to act as crossing guards was discussed, but Verbrugge said they shied away from the idea because of liability concerns.

Verbrugge contends that while there is a cost for the tunnel, the wages saved from employing crossing guards could be applied to a loan or bond for the construction.

In a study conducted by his department in February, Verbrugge said approximately 600 students use the U.S. 75 crosswalks per week. That number, he said, nearly doubles in the spring and fall, when the weather is nicer.

The underpass option

Verbrugge said other options were considered to help people safely cross the highway, including a semaphore (stop light), but that request — made frequently in the last 20-plus years — is not supported by MnDOT. A bridge crossing the highway was also among the considerations, but it would be more expensive and create more maintenance, especially during the winter months, than a tunnel.

“On the east side, it’s below grade already,” Verbrugge said, making a tunnel a more favorable option.

Rock County Engineer Mark Sehr said a site has already been identified and project plans are about 95 percent complete. He explained the tunnel would consist of a box culvert measuring 14 feet wide, 9 feet tall and 102 feet long. It would be placed under U.S. 75 in an area approximately 350 feet north of Dodge Street.

Verbrugge said a Web-based camera system would be installed in the tunnel, along with lighting and a paint product to deter graffiti.

“There have been concerns (voiced) about illegal activity, drug usage and rapes,” he said. “I’ve contacted other agencies with underpasses and they’ve indicated they don’t have cameras in there and haven’t had any trouble.”

Both Marshall and St. Peter have underpasses beneath highways for students to walk to school.

Another comment Verbrugge has heard is students will take the shortest route possible to school, and if they have to walk an extra distance to get to the tunnel, they may take their chances at crossing the highway.

Testing the lights

While the liaison committee is curious to see if MnDOT’s proposed lighting changes improve the crossings, they also hope the $400,000 grant will be extended.

“I believe the consensus was to use pedestrian crossing signals and signs,” said Sehr, adding the liaison committee will re-evaluate the crossings after those projects are completed, in addition to MnDOT’s planned highway project, which would take U.S. 75 from its current four-lane roadway to a two-lane roadway with a center turn lane.

“When you bring it from four lanes to three lanes, that would help with crossing,” Verbrugge said. “With adding some of these lights and pedestrian crossings, hopefully they will be able to slow things down. Then we could look at the underpass.

“We are doing our due diligence by researching this with three units of government,” he added.

Daily Globe Reporter Julie Buntjer may be reached at 376-7330.

Tags: news, underpass, luverne